Huerfano County ( ; ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,820. The county, whose name comes from the Spanish huérfano meaning "orphan", was named for the Huerfano Butte, a local landmark. The area of Huerfano County boomed early in the 1900s with the discovery of large coal deposits. After large scale World War II coal demand ended in the 1940s Walsenburg and Huerfano saw a steady economic decline through 2015.
History
thumb|left|upright|Huerfano Heritage Center in [[Walsenburg, Colorado|Walsenburg]]Huerfano County was one of the original 17 counties created by the Territory of Colorado on November 1, 1861, and was originally larger than its present size. On November 2, 1870, the Colorado General Assembly created Greenwood County from former Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal land and the eastern portion of Huerfano County. There are countless reports of vast New Spain and Native American gold treasures that lay hidden in the hills and mountains of Huerfano County including the Arapahoe Princess Treasure. Two Spanish forts were located in Huerfano County.
Colorado Coalfield War
Huerfano County and neighboring Las Animas County were the central locations of the 1913-1914 United Mine Workers of America strike against the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel and Iron company, which is now referred to as the Colorado Coalfield War.
Walsenburg and other stops on the Colorado and Southern Railway proved strategically important for both strikers and the Colorado National Guard, resulting in multiple gun-battles in around towns with stops.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. The price of property saw an increase of more than 10% after a moratorium on commercial marijuana grows was lifted in July 2015.
Adjacent counties
- Pueblo County - northeast
- Las Animas County - southeast
- Costilla County - southwest
- Alamosa County - west
- Custer County - northwest
- Saguache County - northwest
Major highways
Protected areas
thumb|Spanish Peaks at sunrise
- Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness
- Lathrop State Park
- San Isabel National Forest
- Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
- Spanish Peaks Wilderness
Scenic byway
- Highway of Legends Scenic Byway
Attractions and recreation
thumb|Skiers at Cuchara Mountain ParkThe county's tourism board brands the county as "Southern Colorado's Spanish Peaks Country." Visitors are attracted to the Spanish Peaks and the many mountain-related activities they offer, such as mountain climbing, hiking, hunting, and sightseeing. In addition, the western part of the county offers the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Range, a range that includes several fourteeners.
The towns of La Veta and Cuchara offer art galleries and lodging.
Also in Cuchara, a new county park — the Cuchara Mountain Park — opened in 2017, repurposing property that used to be the former Cuchara Ski Resort. The ski resort had been closed to skiers since 2000, but in the mid-2020s a group of local citizens purchased a parcel of land the old ski resort occupied and formed the non-profit Panadero Ski Corporation. Beginning in 2023, the organization began taking skiers and snowboarders partway up the ski resort's mountain using a snowcat pulling a "ski bus", opening the ski resort for the first time in more than twenty years. Moreover, Panadero Ski Corporation is in the process of repairing one of the old ski lifts at the site, Lift 4, and hopes to open it to visitors soon.
Huerfano County is a geologist's paradise. Over 500 dikes surround the Spanish Peaks. Many other geological formations, such as the Dakota Formation, are visible in the county.
Lathrop State Park offers hiking, camping, picnicking, fishing and of mountain bike trails. Adjacent to the park, the city of Walsenburg offers a public, nine-hole golf course.